Springfield, PA – U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (PA-07) was honored today for his work to preserve patient access to cutting-edge medical testing equipment that can help diagnose disease and save lives. In a visit to a Siemens facility in Montgomery County, Siemens Healthcare representatives presented Meehan with the “Access to Innovation” award from the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA), a group representing the manufacturers of medical imaging devices like MRI machines, X-Ray equipment, CT scanners and ultrasound machines.

“These technologies not only help save lives, they help grow our economy in Pennsylvania,” Meehan said. “Siemens and its employees are doing outstanding, innovative work. The devices they manufacture can detect diseases. We know that early detection saves lives and reduces health care costs. I appreciate this recognition from MITA, and I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that patients have access to life-saving medical imaging technologies.”

In Congress, Meehan has supported repealing a 2.3 percent medical excise tax that would drive health care costs up for patients and harm medical equipment manufacturers and their workers. Meehan also sent a bipartisan letter to House leadership expressing concern that Medicare cuts to diagnostic imaging services could harm seniors’ access to care.

Pennsylvania is home to 600 medical technology companies that employ more than 20,000 people.

“Representative Meehan’s efforts in Congress have protected Pennsylvania patients’ access to life-saving services and promoted innovation for the next generation of diagnostics and therapies,” said Gail Rodriguez, Executive Director of MITA. “We are thrilled to honor Representative Meehan for his continued support of radiation therapy and medical imaging technologies that not only save millions of patient lives each year, but also support thousands of American jobs in the medical technology sector.”

“Representative Meehan’s leadership in protecting access to medical imaging provides hope to Pennsylvania’s patients and their families at a time when medical imaging continues to be targeted for payment cuts that threaten patients’ ability to get the care they need,” said Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance and a native of Pennsylvania. “Screening is essential to detecting disease when it is most treatable, which can prevent the need for costlier, more invasive procedures down the road. Representative Meehan’s efforts to preserve patient access to these life-saving technologies are greatly appreciated within our community, as demonstrated by this well-deserved award.”

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